A/N: Sorry the late update.
Thank you for those who read and follow this story up to this point; especial thank for those who take your precious time to review.
The next chapter is still in progress, might take longer than expected.
Disclaimer: Do not own Naruto
(7/26/11)
"N-na-naruto-kun, what are you doing here?"
Naruto grinned, "To feed you, of course."
He jumped into the room and sat on the bed,
"Let's see what we get here. There you are; first, let's have this red bean soup as an appetizer. Then we have steak as a main course with some wine to savor the taste. We also have chicken barbecue in case you're still hungry and your favorite cinnamon rolls as dessert."
Hinata's eyes widened in awe as Naruto used his time space jutsu to pull a table out of the air, then all of the food and dishes. Naruto hummed while setting up the dinner table. Lastly he pulled out a bouquet of Hyacinth and gave it to Hinata. He turned his head away, blushed, and scratched his head, unable to form a word.
"Naruto-kun, this is..."
Naruto bowed and yelled his true feelings out of his chest,
"I'm sorry, Hinata, for being a jerk."
Not hearing an answer, he looked up to see a sobbing Hinata,
"Hinata, what..."
"Naruto-kun, *sob*, I was so scared that you would hate me *sob*, I didn't know how to face you after *sob*...I'm sorry for slapping at you like that *continued to sobbing uncontrollably*. I thought that you would never want to see me again. *sob* I really don't want to hurt you. I didn't know what got into me..."
Naruto took her hands and placed a light kiss on it to calm her down; then he let her palm touch his cheek, feeling the softness of it.
"See, it is not hurt at all. And I deserved to be slapped by you." He leaned his forehead against hers, "Sorry to hurt you with my words. I was so angry and confused I didn't know what to do and I was so afraid of losing you.."
"What is the commotion over here? Huh, Naruto, what are you doing here? Didn't I tell you to restrain your desires? Look, what are you doing now?"
Hiashi sighed and looked around the room while Naruto and Hinata instantly kept their distance; each went into a corner of the room. Hiashi nodded in satisfaction,
"That is much better. That is how a husband and wife should behave, always keep some distance and treat each other with due respects and formalities, the same way you treat your guests."
Then his eyes spotted the dinner table. Naruto could swear that for a moment he did see a glint of light in his eyes.
"Well, I see you have prepared quite a feast here. Let's not waste any of it. Come, Hinata and Naruto, let's have a late dinner together."
Much to Naruto's dismay, he and Hinata were placed on each side of Hiashi-sama; and, much to his greater horror, Hiashi was a very devoted and fast eater who in just a second had helped Naruto to clean out the whole table, not wasting a single piece. He cleaned his mouth with a napkin and asked Naruto delightfully,
"Such a wonderful meal, did you prepare it yourselves, Naruto?"
"Hai, Otou-chan, I especially prepared this for Hinata", Naruto tried with his weak voice to emphasize the last word as clear as possible.
"Oh, you are such a good husband, but consider how Hinata hasn't had a chance to taste any of it yet. May I ask if you had prepared more for her? In my opinion, the last meal is pretty insufficient for a shinobi of such quality as Hinata."
"Actually I did prepare some extra in case she wants some."
Naruto used his time space jutsu and pulled out some more food.
"Very good. As the father of Hinata, I humbly thank you."
And to express his humble thanks to Naruto, Hiashi-sama again helped him to finish all the food in a matter of another second. He clapped his stomach lightly and yawned,
"You are such a good cook you should come here more often and cook for Hinata. It's getting late now; you can go to the guest room. See you tomorrow at breakfast."
With that he reached to the door and left. Naruto ran after him and asked,
"Otou-chan, can Hinata come home with me tomorrow?"
Hiashi laughed,
"So you newlyweds have found a way to solve your little conflicts, huh? Of course; Hinata is free to go wherever she wants. On a second thought, if you want Hinata back, you better bring her here more often and let the whole family try your cooking too. But next time remember to make a feast ten times as big. You should not be cheap when it comes to your wife's family."
Naruto murmured as Hiashi's figure dissolved into the dark hall.
"You mean to cook for you. And you should be more generous when it comes to your poor little son-in-law."
He scratched his head and pounded it on the wall. "I can't believe it. I put all of my money of the last mission on the food, and the result is that all of it went into Chouji and Otou-chan stomachs; and Hinata didn't even have a chance to taste even one bit of my devotion to her. It is so unfair. What is the point to put so much effort in it anyway? I should not listen to Chouji and Shizune-Onee-chan, after all."
He groaned and headed to the guest room which was pretty much his own room in the mansion now; cursing his stupid self for listening to imprudent and unwise advises.
Flash back:
Naruto stomped into Shizune as he rushed to the house after the talk with Chouji.
"Naruto, prefect timing. I have heard what Chouji told you and I will help you to make a prefect dinner to win Hinata's heart."
"What? Did you just eavesdrop on us?"
Shizune laughed guiltily and waved her hands,
"Eavesdropping? What are you talking about? I'm not that kind of person. I just accidentally heard something important; and what's more important is that I will help you to make your chance to get her back higher."
"Are you sure Shizune-Onee-chan? Make it fast, though; I don't have much time."
"Don't worry about time; you have plenty of time until it gets dark. You should operate this plan at night, and I got some handful helpers here, so you will be back up with our full force. Now, let's see what you got for dinner."
Looking at the bag Naruto was holding, Shizune frowned
"This is not good. Cinnamon roll and red bean soup are not showing her your feelings and commitments good enough. Here is the plan; read bean soup as appetizer, steak and chicken BBQ as main courses, and cinnamon roll as dessert."
"Aren't steak and chicken BBQ kind of expensive?"
"Don't speak money when you speak love. I can't ever imagine you as a material type who cares only for money. No wonder you could never get yourselves a girlfriend before. And what's more, you need flowers to show that you are sorry. Ino suggested Hyacinth. It means sincere; it is a way to show your gratitude, to show her that you are really sorry and you sincerely regret for what you have done."
Shizune began spinning around the room, dreamy waving her note, "I have always dreamt of have a romantic dinner with my love; eating steaks and enjoying the wine under the dimming candles light, pouring into each other's ears words of sweetness. Ohhhhh *closed her eyes*. And then Ahhhhhhhh *embraced her face with her hands and jumped around*.
"Shizune-Onee-chan. Hey, Shizune-Onee-chan."
"Oh, Naruto, remember this", Shizune suddenly returned to her serious face as she added, "make sure to apology to her properly, and you have to kiss her after that. Then you can... *blush*"
"Do I really have to kiss her *blush*?"
"Of course; this is a main part of the ritual. You can only be forgiven after you kiss her. Remember that well."
End of flash back.
Naruto tossed around the bed, nuzzling his face deep into the pillow.
"Now that I think about it, I haven't kissed her yet, so she has not forgiven me yet, has she?"
"You can only be forgiven after you kiss her. Remember that well."
You can only be forgiven after you kiss her. Remember that well."
You can only be forgiven after you kiss her. Remember that well."
You can only be forgiven after you kiss her. Remember that well."
Naruto groaned, covered his ears with his hands and tried to sleep again.
Chouji + Shizune's recovery plans: execute: Naruto. Mission successes with huge losses on Naruto's financial standing. Naruto's imagination: unsuccessful.
Sakura headed to the market, holding some vegetables for Naruto. That baka. She smiled; he never ate vegetable. She smiled again, imagining his face when she forced vegetables into his mouth. She had that urge again; the urge to see him and talk to him. She had tried to constraint herself, kept reminding herself that he was a married man, but maybe it only made the urge became stronger. The attraction became more irresistible. That was why today she had to find him to confirm her feelings, to prove that those feeling were not real, all of those were the results of jealous and she would see him as her friend once she met him again. Her heart beat rapidly as two figures passed her. She tried to call out in her weak voice,
"Naruto."
She reached her hands and tried to call him again. That was all in vain. All he could see right now was the one walking next to him. All he could hear right now was the gentle and sweet voice of the woman next to him. There was no place left to her; she had no place in his heart or his life now.
Her heart squeezed painfully at how his eyes looked at Hinata. Those looks; that was how he used to look at her with those deep blue eyes, so pure and gentle but at the same time so strong and intense, like she could be drawn into it completely. She was so scared before, to look into those eyes, to perceive how strong he was and how insignificant she was compared to him. She was scared of how she looked into those eyes and saw only her in them. She was scared of her inability to return his love and make him happy. But now, those feelings she had right now were even more terrifying than fear; the anticipation of losing him, losing his love, losing his heart... It was beyond her worst nightmare to see what was in his eyes just now. Only Hinata and Hinata alone.
Before, Naruto always knew where she was no matter how far apart they were. He was always the first who called out for her, he was always the first who reached his hands for her. But now, when she was just a few steps away from him, he could no longer feel her existence; he would never notice her the same way he did before. Tears began to flow down her cheek. She clenched her fists. She never felt this pain before; it was even more painful than the time Sasuke left the village, the time Sasuke declared to cut their bonds, the time Sasuke intended to kill her, the time when Sasuke betrayed the village. A hundred times more painful. The mere thought of losing Naruto shook Sakura to her core; making her go insane, unable to think, unable to control her body and emotions. Her legs followed the happy couple without her consent. Tears continued to dampen her face and her heart beat so fast that she thought it would jump out of her chest at any moment.
Naruto's hands trembled as he held Hinata's hand and led her to the forest. He had to do it now. He had to do it or otherwise she would never forgive him. He had to do it. No problem. Everyone did it at least once in their life. Maybe not everyone, but well, that was not the point. He had to be more confident; it was not like it was his first time. He did it before. Yes, he had the experience in this particular matter. No worry, he could do it. He concentrated hard on memorizing how it happened last time. Alright, number one: the target had to sit in a lower position.
"Hinata, sit here."
Naruto placed Hinata on a wooden log, and nodded in satisfaction when he himself jumped onto the big rock next to it. Number two: he had to be on a higher position. Yeah, that was perfect. Now this was almost the same scenario as the last time; all he needed to do now was get a little push from behind. That was a piece of cake. He made the hand sign and called out a bunshin.
"Hinata look at me."
"Naruto-kun, what's going on?"
As Naruto closed his eyes and pulled his lips out to complete the complicated task when his bunshin pushed him from behind, Hinata reacted according to her shinobi instinct and jumped out of her position, making Naruto kiss hard on the vacant log. His forehead met the hardened texture and he fell off to the ground.
"Naruto, Naruto, are you ok?"
Sakura rushed to Naruto and worriedly checked his wound. Hinata, still not able to regain her conscious after what happened, stood still there, motionless, watching Sakura healing Naruto.
Sakura gently wiped off his forehead with her handkerchief and looked at Hinata angrily. Hinata's heart squeezed painfully at the sight, at how gentle Sakura was to Naruto, at how much care and concern she put to him, at how he looked and smiled at her. Hinata clenched her fists and bit her lips hard to contain her tears. They looked so happy right now; they looked much better as a couple than she and Naruto. And what was she? A third person who was in their way. The look that Sakura just gave her. It was right; she couldn't do anything for Naruto but hurt him. The look that Sakura gave Naruto; she was truly in love with him. No, Hinata covered her ears with her hands. No, she didn't want to think any further. Naruto was in love with Sakura, too. He smiled at Sakura again with that smile. Tears swelled in her eyes; he rarely gave her that smile before but she guessed he always gave Sakura that. All she wanted to do now was to go there, hit Sakura hard in her face and threaten her to never get close to her Naruto again.
Hinata ran away. She had to get away from them, as far as possible, otherwise she would go insane. If she was there any longer, she would really hit Sakura. She was such a horrible person, thinking of something like hitting her friends. Why? Why did she turn out this way? If Naruto knew what was in her heart; her jealousy, her passive violence, her tendency to hurt his important friends, he would never want to be with her again. She tried to sweep her tears away, but they continued to fall nonstop.
She couldn't understand herself anymore. If it was before, she would be happy that Sakura came and helped Naruto; she wouldn't mind their friendship at all. But, she sobbed, that was not just friendship. Sakura loved Naruto; that she knew for sure. She sobbed harder; what if Naruto also loved Sakura? He had loved her before and still loved her now. What terrified her most was her reaction, her intolerance of any subjects near Naruto. No, she had to get away from him otherwise she would turn into a monster; she would change from a gentle timid shy shinobi to one that was full of jealousy and violent tendency. Yes, it was for the best that she should keep distance from him.
A pair of eye watched the scenario passively and emotionless. However, inside those eyes were tons of emotions; hate, anger, bitterness, urges for revenge, thirst for blood and chaos. The sun shone too brightly these days. He was very happy recently; he was always smiling, always laughing and his eyes were full of happiness and love. It must be because of the little sun. The sun was too bright for his liking before and now that the little sun continued to add light to it, it became more unbearable, intolerable. He had run out of patience; no more waiting. He could not stand the sun any longer. Oh, he could not wait until he could crush it completely, shatter it into pieces. He closed his eyes. Then again, the sun was not that easy to break. It did not matter anymore; no more waiting. The sun shone too brightly now; if he waited any longer he would be dissolved completely into it.
How he hated the sun. His eyes, his light, his past, his present, his clan, his memories, his brother; all of what had ever been important to him was being destroyed by the sun. Yes, the sun had stolen and destroyed anything that was important to him so the sun alone could be happy; so he could shine brightly and smile all days. It didn't matter anymore; even if he could not break the sun completely at least he could scratch a mark on it, poisoning it with darkness and depression long enough for his escape. Yes, no more patience. Here was the chance now that the little sun had run away from the sun. He had to catch this chance and use to it to his full advantage.
A/N: I have been so busy with work and with updating stories, please show me some love by reviewing *puppy eyes*.
